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In a study involving 143 experienced managers, utility analysis was found to influence managerial decision making, but not in the way intended by advocates of this technique. Utility analysis reduced the support of managers for implementing a valid selection procedure, even though the analysis indicated that the net benefits from the new procedure were substantial. In light of these findings, industrial/organizational psychologists are advised to reconsider their assumptions regarding the information managers use when managers make human resource policy decisions.

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The search for individual dierences relevant to behavior in escalation situations has met with little success. Continuing the search, this study investigated self-ecacy judgments as a potentially important individual dierence in escalating commitment to a losing course of action. Predictions derived from self-ecacy theory suggest that selfpercepts of high ecacy would exacerbate the economically irrational escalation bias whereas self-percepts of low ecacy would diminish it. These predictions were consistently supported in this laboratory study where business students responded to decision dilemmas in which funds had been committed to a failing course of action. Theoretical and practical implications of these ®ndings are drawn for the escalation and self-ecacy literatures.